Reviewed by: Geoff van Maarten — Anxious Little Dog Prods

COLOR IS WITHIN YOUR CONTROL! With the most-advanced camera, monitor and playback system ever developed (our eyes and brain) color management seems effortless to the uninitiated, but it is perhaps one of the most complex and least understood elements in video production. ‘The Art and Technique of Digital Color Correction’ diligently puts an end to all the mystery and sheds a finely-crafted light on this important and highly-nuanced discipline of post production. Whether you’re trying to understand how to use a waveform monitor or discover the most-established way to give a day-for-night image the noirish tone it deserves, Steve Hullfish covers it all in a methodically-straightforward, comprehensive manner. This overview covers everything from calibrating your tools and environment (you’ll learn why all production editing suites are a dingy 18% gray) to color grading techniques and tricks of the most intrepid colorists in the industry (and why many artists prefer the term &quot;grading&quot; to &quot;correction&quot;.) It’s an exhaustive-yet-accessible ‘hands-on’ account. Hullfish covers topics using a variety of the most common software and interfaces. The publication also provides a DVD of content and lessons to make sure the reader has the resources needed to relate the material to platforms like Resolve, Avid, and Color (since it’s available to most learners for free, he leans on Resolve the most.) Unless you’re aiming for an Emmy or BAFTA for ‘Best Colorist’ (and even if you are), there’s more-than-likely all the info and examples you’ll need to cover all of your video color issues. It will give you the confidence you need to not only balance your shots but know when you’ve moved beyond primary to secondary correction (and when you might want to stop!) It’s also written with a fluidity that makes it a faster, more-digestible read than one would imagine possible in a 500+ page book could be on such a technical subject. It’s an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the field of video or film, especially color. To get 40% off this or other Focal Press books please visit our discount offers page for the code.

As the book’s title implies: it is ALL about the business. If you are looking for a “how-to” for an actual shoot day—look elsewhere. That being said: if you want to know the business and legal side of how to put together a film that has a chance of being seen by a greater audience than your family and friends, and if you want to make sure you’re paid for your work (and can afford to make another film), this book can act as a great guide. It provides a very thorough introduction to the ins and outs of what it takes to be a capable, financially successful producer for independent features. It is a comprehensive overview to the business side of producing: financing, distribution, legal matters, investors, etc. Its focus is to explain the many issues producers need to be aware of in getting their product financed and distributed effectively to maximize the film’s profit.

The book opens with a brief overview of how the market side of the film industry functions. It then breaks that down further, going into the details of how to work with: U.S. theatrical distributors, international territories, and ancillary marketing, internet and DIY marketing, contracts, development and motion picture financing, the team needed for actual production, talent and talent agents/agencies, production company structure, accounting, negotiations, entertainment law, and a brief overview of a producer’s position during a shoot day.

While this book definitely gives you valuable and thorough information about the business of being a producer, it is not a good introductory text. The detail this book goes into is extensive, and it doesn’t take time to explain terms and concepts: it assumes a certain level of knowledge. However, if you know a little bit about the industry—then the Producer’s Business Handbook is an invaluable resource to understanding the full range of a producer’s duties to himself and his picture.

Get 40% off this and other Focal Press Books getting the code on our discount offers page.

Reviewed by: Tony LaTorre The name of the book “Filmmaking with the iPad & iPhone” by Taz Goldstein might cause many, even seasoned professionals, to think this is a book about shooting footage with the iPad/iPhone. After all, what gets covered in the press these days is the (admittedly) miraculous feat of filming a movie on a phone (parts of the Oscar-nominated documentary “Searching for Sugar Man” were shot on the iPhone). To be sure, shooting is one part of the book, but this is a manual on how to use the iPad/iPhone through every stage of the process of making a film, from conceiving a screenplay, to pitching the project, prepping the shoot, filming, postproduction, all the way to posting your finished masterpiece to the web. Of course, you don’t have to do it all on an iOS device, (although Goldstein proves that you can if you want), but what’s great is you can pick and choose which pieces will work for you and use just those. Filmmaking, especially in the independent film world, is all about doing more with less, about being as efficient as possible with your limited resources. This book illustrates that you can have some great tools for getting your entire film made for relatively cheap, especially compared to 10 or 20 years ago. And Goldstein shows how iOS devices used in filmmaking is not just a gimmick, it offers real world benefits. One of the most illuminating examples is how you can scout a location and in real time create a lighting order you can send off before you ever leave the location. Where the book is less engaging is when Goldstein goes into the actual nitty-gritty of how to get things done on the specific apps, the “tap X on the top menu than tap Y on the bottom left” kind of description that sometimes came up. It was confusing to follow along without the specific app in front of me, and in any event I feel the real strength of the book is in describing the functionality available by these devices, not in how that functionality is specifically carried out. This book will open your eyes to the amazing steps digital filmmaking has taken in the last 6 years, and the great versatility that these devices can offer filmmakers. And it’s an enjoyable read too, Goldstein keeps it funny and lively and actually entertaining, a rare feat in a book about technology. To visit Peachpit Press and see the book click here. To visit Tony LaTorre’s Website click http://www.tonylatorre.com For 35% off this and other Peachpit books visit our Discount Offers page.